Editing of Srila Prabhupada's Books as Requested by HDG Srila Prabhupada
BY: GOVINDA DATTA DASA
Oct 31, 2010 — USA (SUN) — Concerning the printing of the Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the history is that the copyright was held by Macmillan long after Srila Prabhupada had left us. Srila Prabhupada had pointed out various corrections that should take place in his books, including the Bhagavad-gita. We know Macmillan had taken out the Gita-Mahatmya that was included in the introduction because it made the introduction too long. There was an entire purport missing, etc. And it was not until we tricked Macmillan that we could acquire the copyright and restore the Bhagavad-gita to the original. Please read the following submission from "Responsible Publishing" as given to us by the BBT to clarify the corrections that Srila Prabhupada himself requested HH Jayadvaita Swami to do. Thank you.
Your Servant,
Govinda Datta dasa
"The revisions for the Second Edition of Bhagavad-gita As It Is were done by Jayadvaita Swami. Jayadvaita Swami had served in Krsna conscious book production for nearly ten years during Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. He served first as a typist (one of his early engagements was to retype the entire edited manuscript of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is). Later he served as a transcriber (he transcribed much of the Krsna book). He then went on to typesetting, proofreading, and editing. He served as an editor for Srila Prabhupada until Srila Prabhupada's very last days on earth.
Critics of the second edition of Bhagavad-Gita As It Is are essentially criticizing Jayadvaita Swami. Implicitly or explicitly, they are saying he edited recklessly, heedlessly, without authority. Who does he think he is, to so arrogantly change Srila Prabhupada words?
Yet while Srila Prabhupada was physically present, "changing Srila Prabhupada's words" - that is, editing - was Jayadvaita Swami's prescribed duty. Srila Prabhupada trusted him to do it well.
We know of no instance in which Srila Prabhupada expressed anything other than confidence, pleasure, and satisfaction concerning Jayadvaita Swami's editing.
Devamrta Swami remembers:
A year or so later [1976] I was the production manager of the BBT, as well as final copy editor. One day I noticed a pile of manuscript pages on my desk. They turned out to be a mass of Bhagavatam revisions, for a corrected version of the entire First Canto.
Jayadvaita had painstakingly gone through the whole canto and carefully compiled many editing changes for an upcoming reprint. Submitting the whole batch to Srila Prabhupada, he expected, as did all of us, that Prabhupada would personally comb through all the suggested revisions and accept or reject each one. After all, this was the Bhagavatam, the lawbook for thousands of years to come. But Prabhupada, after acknowledging the whole heap of revisions to his synonyms, translations, and purports, merely returned the mass. Accompanying it was a letter from him saying: "Concerning the editing of Jayadvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him."
After Srila Prabhupada left, Jayadvaita Swami simply continued his prescribed duty-finding and correcting errors, guarding against needless changes, and making sure that Srila Prabhupada's books came as close as possible to Srila Prabhupada's intended meaning and Srila Prabhupada's original words.
Did Srila Prabhupada trust Jayadvaita Swami? See for yourself.
On 10 February 1970, Srila Prabhupada wrote him:
It is very much encouraging to see you are a good and scrutinizing editor. May Krishna bless you.
In that same letter, in response to questions on how to handle some editing for The Nectar of Devotion, Srila Prabhupada told him:
... do it at your best discretion as Krsna will dictate from within you. I can rely on you.
Here is another remembrance from Devamrta Swami:
Srila Prabhupada was touring the BBT in 1975, to turn up the heat in the famous book production marathon. He came into my office and I explained to him my service as copy editor-doing the final checks on type-composed copy. Next he walked into Jayadvaita Dasa brahmacari's office. Sitting down on the chaddar of his chief English editor, he declared, "Jayadvaita means parampara."
On 7 September 1976, Srila Prabhupada sent Radhavallabhu Dasa this unequivocal endorsement of Jayadvaita Swami's work:
Concerning the editing of Jayadvaita Prabhu, whatever he does is approved by me. I have confidence in him.
Even in the famous conversation about "rascal editors," in which Srila Prabhupada blasted BBT editors and managers for making whimsical changes in his books, Jayadvaita Swami emerged not only unscathed, but even endorsed by Srila Prabhupada as a suitable person to guard editorial integrity.
In that conversation, in Vrndavana on 22 June 1977, Yasodanandana Swami said to Srila Prabhupada:
They [the BBT editors] were trying to make better English, but sometimes, to make better English, I think they were making philosophical mistakes also. There is no so much need of making so much better English. Your English is sufficient. It is very clear, very simple. We have caught over 125 changes. They're changing so many things. We are wondering if this is necessary. I will show you today. I have kept the book.
In the course of the discussion, in which Srila Prabhupada blasts "rascal editors" left and right, Tamal Krishna Goswami mentions:
Your original work that you're doing now, that is edited by Jayadvaita. That's the first editing.
And Srila Prabhupada replies:
He is good.
Svarupa Damodara Dasa (now Swami) was also taking part in the discussion, and at one point Tamal Krishna Goswami repeats a suggestion from Svarupa Damodara that Srila Prabhupada's books be checked and, if need be, revised before being reprinted. Tamal Krishna Goswami says:
I think Svarupa Damodara's point, that all the books should now be checked before they're reprinted again... . And they have to be checked not by some so-called learned Sanskrit man but by a learned devotee. Just like you always favored Jayadvaita because his Krsna consciousness...
And Srila Prabhupada responds approvingly:
Jayadvaita, Satsvarupa...
